2007 Knapp, Estate Bottled, Cayuga Lake, Merlot ($14.95 at winery). Alcohol level: 12%! This is the first Merlot that weâ€™ve received from Knapp that didnâ€™t carry the New York AVA. Hopefully the â€™08 will be estate bottled too, but they lost 50 acres of vines this year in a hail storm, and I donâ€™t know if that included their Merlot plantings. It is not on their website right now, but you can get it by directly contacting them.

This wine if much darker and richer than previous bottlings, but is still very low in alcohol. In addition to the Merlot plum ness there were other red and black fruits on the nose and tongue tip. There was even more fruit in complex middle that included a hint of oak and chewy tannin. It was very well balanced. The finish lingered on and on.

We matched it with grilled fillet steaks, expecting the wine to be the lighter version. The wine would have gone better with nice thick rib eyes or sirloin steak. We have three more bottles to give that a try, and wish we had bought more at the time.

Another bottle tonight with very nice rib eyes cooked in the restaurant method. Mine had a slab of blue cheese on it while her's just had a pat of butter. We also had baked potato and salad with it. What else would you have with steak? The whole deal was fabulous. This could be one of best reds east of the Rockies.

Opened our first '08 tonight. It carries the Finger Lakes app.; and not the Cayuga Lake one, nor is it estate bottled. Methinks that '08 was the spring that their vineyards got hit with hale during bud break, so they must have gotten some grapes from nearby friends.

Never-the-less it measures up to standands, but not quite as good as the '07. The Weenier who thought all FL reds were limpid, should try this one. Enjoyed it with rib eye steak over charcoal and mesquite, roasted baby Yukons, and sliced tomato (brought up from Georgia). Great all around.

Tonight we had a seared and roasted rib eye steak, Yukon Golds in very thick slices and roasted in EVOO, and pureed Blue Hubbard squash from the freezer. We washed all down with a Knapp Finger Lakes Merlot. Time for a Knapp!

Well one year ago we enjoyed their Merlot on our first grilling of the year and it was 89 degrees F.

Today it was only just a little over or under 60 degrees F. We opened our last '09 with our first grilling of the year. It was tenderloin steaks in rasher, over charcoal and mesquite smoke. Side were baked large yellow potatoes and green peas. Yum.

We popped our first 2011 tonight. It still carries the Finger Lakes Appellation and weighs in a 12% alcohol. The price has risen to $16.95. It seems a little lighter than earlier versions, but that was color deception.

It was an extremely hot day today, so we stayed in the air conditioning for dinner. We enjoyed the wine with penne in basil pesto, broiled Italian sausages, and sliced tomatoes. Yum!